This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons--living or dead--is entirely coincidental.
Enchanting Her Alpha copyright @ 2014 by Joanna Wilson. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Enchanting Her Alpha
To help the days to go by quickly, I filled much of my time learning the management of our Coven and the history of our people. I spent the rest of my daylight hours learning and perfecting my practice of the magical arts. I spend hours in the kitchen making salves, ointments, potions and decoctions to cure every ailment, both physical and emotional. I’ve cast spell upon spell, altering either the physical world itself or just another’s perception of it. I’ve thrown myself into learning and mastering these skills, and found that once I allow myself to focus, they come easily to me.
The nights, however, go by so slowly. I have time to think at night; time to think about Brandon, and time to miss him. Tonight, standing on the balcony outside my bedroom, I face yet another sleepless night. I can’t stop thinking of him. I can’t stop longing for him. I am alternately angry and sad, prideful and heartbroken.
I stare at the lights of his community and wonder again what he is doing. I have hidden notes in the dividing wall every morning this week, hoping that he will relent and leave a reply. Each day, I am disappointed when I remove the stone and find my missives, still neatly folded and unread. This morning when I pulled the stone out of the wall and found that, once again, he had not been there, my grief was overwhelming. I needed the strength and reassurance of feminine energy I could only find in my small sanctuary.
I shouldered my way in through the narrow opening and down the short path into the nurturing womb of Mother Earth. I stood there a moment, enveloped in the darkness, and breathed evenly in an attempt to soothe the pain of hurt and rejection before making my way to the niche in the wall that held my candle and lighter. The lighter was the only concession to the modern world I brought here; a flashlight seemed too intrusive, and I felt a need deep within me to respect this primordial energy.
I set the lit candle onto the small ledge and slid down the wall until I was sitting in the small circle of light. I was beyond heartbroken; I was bereft. I mourned the loss of Brandon from my life and the ease with which he had turned his back. I could feel the sting of angry tears welling behind my eyes and fought them, not wanting to give in to the pain crushing my heart. I heard a small noise to my right and I looked up sharply to find a pair of red eyes looking back at me.
The creature got up and trotted into circle of light, revealing itself to be a small female red fox. The vixen stopped a few inches away and sat down, looking at me steadily. She tilted her head as though wondering why I was sad. I reached a slow hand out to her and she placed her furry head in my palm. I knew, beyond a doubt, that my familiar had found me.
I picked her up and scratched her behind the ears like a cat and knew intuitively that her name was Mynx. A feeling of peace came over me and soothed my broken heart like nothing else had. She nestled her head under my chin and my pain, while still fierce, receded. My head cleared, and I found myself thinking, “Are you a witch or what?” I knew what I was going to do.
This was what brought me to my balcony tonight. In my hand I held a maple leaf with Brandon’s name written across it. I stared at the lights across the lake concentrating on my desire to talk to him; on my need to talk to him. I took all the pain, anger and want that I was feeling and put it into that leaf, said the words of power and let it go. It fluttered toward the ground for a few seconds and I momentarily thought my spell had failed, but then a wind kicked up and caught it. I watched as it floated away from me and sailed on the breeze, northward at first. As I continued to watch its progress, I realized it was slowly turning east toward the dividing wall.
I continued to watch it, fascinated, as it flew in a more and more easterly direction, until eventually it was sailing along the shoreline. I peered into the darkness, knowing full well that I would never see him on this side of the wall, but hoping he’d be there anyway. I watched the leaf until it disappeared into the darkness, saying a prayer to the gods that the spell reached Brandon.
Knowing I had done all I could for the moment; I crawled into bed and closed my eyes hoping sleep would finally come. With Mynx curled up beside me sending her soothing energy to me, I was finally able to sleep a few hours until the dawn awoke me with its gentle light.
************
Mynx scurried down the tree next to my balcony to hunt for breakfast while I showered and dressed for the day. After plaiting my hair into a long braid, I headed to the kitchen to say good morning to Amma.
The smell of baking bread wafted on the air as I walked into the kitchen to find Amma just pulling a fresh loaf out of the oven and placing it beside some cooling blueberry muffins. “Good Morning, Amma,” I said, smiling as I kissed her cheek. “I’m going to go for a walk.” I took a muffin and an apple with me for breakfast.
“Good Morning Nicole,” she answered, kissing my cheek in return. “Remember, we’ll be working on your scrying today.”
“Okay.” I answered as I went out the door and followed the path to the shore. Every witch, male or female, has a strength, something that just comes more easily to them. My mother, for example, was a skilled wise woman, diagnosing ailments and making herbal remedies for every ill or condition she was confronted with. Amma, on the other hand, was a skilled kitchen witch. She could create magical food, which could heal, soothe, calm, or energize depending upon what was needed.
I could cook, but didn’t have Amma’s instinct for it; I could put the right herbs together to make remedies, but I had to work hard to make an initial diagnosis. It didn’t come to me in the natural, easy way it did for my mother.
I put these thoughts aside as I approached the dividing wall. I would find out now how skilled I was at sympathetic magic--the art of enchanting an object for a specific purpose, like that leaf last night. I hesitated as I reached the wall, afraid I would find the hole still stuffed full of my unread notes.
“Oh Brandon,” I thought, “Please, please need me as much as I need you.” I pulled the stone out slowly, not wanting to look. I closed my eyes and prayed again, “Brandon, please.” I slowly opened my eyes and was relieved to find my notes gone. I looked closer and found a small, folded piece of paper. My heart pounded ecstatically as I stuffed it into my pocket and pushed the stone back into the wall.
I practically ran towards my sanctuary, hurrying through the woods. I was close, almost there, when I felt a distinct tug on my necklace. I stopped in my tracks and pulled it out of my shirt to be sure. There! I happened again! I looked in the direction it was pulling toward but could see nothing out of the ordinary. I took a few steps in that direction and the pull became stronger, almost lifting the necklace off my chest.
I peered into the trees intently, and after a moment felt sure I saw a slight movement. I could feel the weight of eyes upon me as my necklace reached forward toward something unseen. Sure that something was out there watching me, I continued to stare as I allowed myself to be pulled along by the will of the onyx stone as it sought its mate. I knew full well that only the perfectly matched moonstone that I had given to Brandon could explain this insistent tug.
As I neared the dividing wall once
again, I could see a shape taking form through the leafy underbrush. After a moment, I was confronted with a wolf with green, glittering eyes and sandy brown fur. Brandon! Not exactly what I meant when I cast my spell, but at this point I’d take what I could get.
He moved toward me, his head easily clearing the wall, but he stopped just short of leaping over it. I quickly closed the distance between the two of us and reached out with a shaking hand to touch him. I marveled at the softness of his fur and the shudder of recognition that quaked through me. I had enjoyed it for only a moment, though, when he lifted his head as though listening. With one last look at me, he turned and loped off into the woods.
I watched as he was joined by another wolf, smaller in stature and covered in black fur. Neither looked back at me as they padded deeper into the forest, and I felt jealousy creep up my spine as I realized that this wolf was decidedly female. I wanted to take off after her and tear her apart, so strong was this feeling. I shook my head in an effort to clear myself of this urge. After all, I had no idea what she was to him… but deep down, I knew she wasn’t a relative.
Did he seek me out to show me that he had moved past me, or was he compelled to by my spell? Something stirred in my soul, and I knew that no matter how he tried, he could never be free of me, nor I of him. We were connected by a bond that ran so deeply that nothing, not even our angry words of a week ago, could break it. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t do his damnedest to stay away from me.
I turned away, determined to get to my little cave and read the note that still felt heavy in my pocket. I had to hold on to the hope that he wanted to see me, that we weren’t really going to try to stay apart. Deep within me, I knew we could find a common ground, that we could find a way to be together, because every fiber of my being ached with the need to be reunited again. The brief encounter we just had was not enough, and I couldn’t decide if it made things better or worse.
I lit the candle and stood beside it as I unfolded the note slowly. My eyes scanned over it, reading it quickly, then turned it over to look at the back in case I missed something. Oh, he was a poet, truly. It read:
N-
Meet me on the island tonight.
-B
If I had hoped for tender words or a declaration of love, I was sorely disappointed. Mixed with that disappointment was hope, and I held onto that with everything I had. Where there’s life, there’s hope, right?
A soft rustle behind me told me I wasn’t alone, and I whirled around to find Mynx looking up at me. “You startled me!” I scolded gently. “One sentence,” I informed her, “one lousy sentence. But I’m to meet him tonight.”
I was becoming more and more excited by that thought. Excited and nervous. I had no idea how I would feel tomorrow, but today, right now, I was beside myself with the thought of actually talking to him again. Maybe we did have a chance. Maybe.
“Belly full?” I asked, bending down to run my fingers through her soft fur. It made me think of my encounter with Brandon at the wall, but before all the questions could cloud my mind again, I continued: “I should get back; Amma will be waiting for me to get started. She’ll want to meet you, too.”
Mynx chittered a fox’s answer to me, and after I blew out the candle we went up the path and out the small opening. The daylight struck me as more cheerful now, although I had no idea how I was going to get through the hours that stretched before me. Evening seemed a lifetime away.
************
“And who do we have here?” Amma asked when she saw Mynx scamper into the kitchen behind me.
“This is my familiar, Mynx. Looks like my spell worked,” I answered with a smile.
Amma bent down, scooped Mynx up, and studied her for several minutes. “Well, you’re very powerful, aren’t you?” she said, speaking to Mynx. She looked over at me, giving me a slight nod, “Well done, Nicole. Now, let’s use the still room.
I flushed with pleasure, knowing Amma’s compliments weren’t given lightly. I mumbled a slightly embarrassed thanks as Mynx and I followed Amma into the little room off the kitchen. A still room, as I learned when I came to live with Amma, is both a workroom and a storage room for herbs and all the various concoctions made from them.
One wall of the long, narrow room was lined with shelves overflowing with natural remedies for optimum health and beauty in various stages of completion. On the other was a workbench holding several mortars and pestles, empty bottles, vials and measuring devices of every type. Resting on the workbench and reaching nearly to the low ceiling were individual apothecary drawers filled with every fragrant herb imaginable.
Incense of mugwort and roses, both known for enhancing psychic abilities, filled the air with its heady scent. Looking up, I could see that the small high windows had been covered with short black curtains, enveloping the room in darkness. Amma lit a candle on the bench and pointed to a high stool, motioning to me to sit. In front of me on the worktable was a beautiful scrying mirror: a piece of glass from a plain, black picture frame painted on the underside with a mixture of very finely ground magical herbs and black paint.
“Here is a chant I wrote to help you get into a state of relaxation, but feel free to change it or write one of your own. Let your mind relax, let your eyes relax; the visions will come.” She patted me on the shoulder, and a moment later Mynx and I were alone in the small dark room.
I picked up the little fox and set her down on the workbench, where she curled up into a ball, her head on her paws as she blinked at me through the murky darkness. I took a deep breath to clear my head, committed Amma’s words of power to memory, and began the ritual. I recited the chant as I stared into the mirror, trying to keep my eyes relaxed. Before long they became unfocused and, in the flickering candlelight, something began to take form in the bottomless black of the mirror.
I stared transfixed as the cloudy glass cleared and the awful scene became clear. It was a girl, no older than me, running through the woods. She was looking over her shoulder every few seconds, her eyes wild with fear. I could almost feel her terror as I watched her flee for her life from something I had yet to see. I realized that my heart was pounding as I watched her catch her foot on an exposed root that sent her sprawling. She clawed at the ground in a desperate attempt to regain her feet, but it was too late.
I could feel her panic as together we watched her pursuer emerge from the trees. It held its head low, the tongue lolling out of its gaping mouth accentuating its large, pointed teeth. It almost seemed to be smiling as it approached her steadily, slowly, as though knowing that its prey was beaten.
I watched in horror as it loomed hugely over her, almost toying with her as she scrambled backward, looking for a way out or a weapon. Her hands closed over a sharp rock just as it leaped on top of her, knocking her back to the ground with an audible whoosh as the air left her lungs. She swung her arm up, smashing the rock into its head and drawing blood. The blow stunned the creature for a brief second before it almost casually lowered its head and tore her throat out.
“No!” I yelled. A startled Mynx jumped up and started screaming in her fox voice, bringing Amma running into the room. How many times she called my name before I finally responded I don’t know, but she was holding my face in both hands. Hers was only inches from mine, concern and deep relief etched upon it. I grabbed her wrists and croaked out, “It killed her! It ripped her throat out!”
“What, Nicole, what killed who?”
“A werewolf! A werewolf killed her!” I shouted back at her, anger and fear traveling down my spine. “It just ripped her throat out,” I repeated again, still trying to comprehend what I had seen.
“Who, Nicole? Who did it kill?” Amma appeared outwardly calm, but I could hear the anger and concern in her voice.
“I don’t know her; she’s not one of ours,” I answered recalling the face of the doomed girl. “She was about my age. I think she was an outsider, a civilian.”
I spent the rest of the morning with my grandm
other and the other members of the Coven’s ruling circle, Drew’s dad Ben included, describing what I had seen. As I recounted my vision, I realized that I had seen the wolf just this morning with Brandon. Who was that wolf, and what did she have to do with Brandon? Both of those questions were good ones to ask him tonight.
The debate that ensued went on for over an hour, until Amma’s cool, calm voice silenced the others. “We don’t know if Nicole’s visions are past, present or future yet.” Amma was saying as I allowed myself to be pulled from my thoughts. “We cannot demand retribution for something that may not have even happened yet.”
Ben jumped in:“If it hasn’t happened yet, we still have a chance to save this girl. We can stop this before it happens.”
“The future, if this is the future, is not written in stone. We have no choice but to wait,” Amma replied with a finality in her voice that ended the discussion and the meeting.
It was resolved that, having no other recourse, we would wait and see what happened. I was now even more impatient to talk to Brandon, and could only hope that he would have some answers for me. I had never felt more frustrated or more impatient for night to come in my life.
Enchanting Her Alpha (Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance) Page 1